Hardwood or Laminate Floors?

[GJM]

We are going to be changing out our flooring - I can't stand carpet.

In our old house we had hardwood floors. Can anyone tell me if they have laminate and do you like and can you tell the difference. The flooring we are changing is in the living room, dining room and hallway. For now we are leaving carpet in the bedrooms.

Any suggestions would be great!

 

[Buckalew11]

I have laminate flooring now and have had it for several years and really liked it.

However, I'm building a house and we have chosen to use solid hardwood. There is definitely a different feel and sound to the floor when you walk on it. We bought our hardwood from a place in GA--it was way cheaper than buying it from a flooring company here or Lowes/Home Depot.

I did look at some engineered hardwood made by Shaw that I loved very much but DH thought it was best to use the real McCoy.

Good luck!!

 

[JR6ooo4]

in my experience, the laminate feels like a layer of wood on the floor. it does not feel like the floor itself.

we were very lucky to find 50 year old hardwood under our carpet! Only $1200 to refinish it. for a small living room and dining room.

Mikeeee

 

[nskjerven]

yup, I think you can tell the difference. I like the look and feel of hardwood but the upkeep of laminate is fab if you have kids and dogs

 

[aprilgail2]

You certainly can tell the difference between real hardwood floors and the fake stuff. People will tell you "mine look just like hardwood"...they may THINK they do but honestly there is a big diference, in look, feel and sound. Laminate floors feel like you are not walking on real hardwood floors, there is just an odd feeling to the stuff.... if its your only choice then its sure better than carpet though!

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I have had both and go for the hardwood.

For starters, laminate is more easily damaged, cannot be repaired like hardwood, & is more desired with resale over laminate.

I have dogs and they ruined the laminate with their nails in 3 weeks. With this house, you can see some damage with their nails but it is faint.
Then you have the water. I have to say my hardwood is holding up against water on the floor.

The laminate would "chip" in tiny areas. You had to use a marker to fill it in.

The laminate we had was a "distressed look" and not very good I think. Maybe if we had a better laminate it would have held up better, I don't know. I have heard good things about Pergo holding up. However it does not hold up against water so for us hardwood is the way to go.

Both houses we bought were model homes and we did not get to choose the flooring.

 

[GJM]

Thank you for the replies - so far I am thinking hardwood.

In our old house we also had 50 year old hardwood under the carpet and we had that refinished, it looked great!

 

[JCJRSmith]

I have both.

When we moved into our house 10 years ago, the living room and dining room are a beautiful oak hardwood. The kitchen, front and back hallways were a really old crappy vinyl, and there was an ugly green carpet (over a concrete slab) in the family room.

We had a professional put Pergo in the kitchen and hallways. We pulled up the carpet from the family room and put in Pergo there ourselves. We have two dogs (Shepherd/Lab mix and a beagle) and they can't scratch it or damage the laminate at all. The Pergo we used has a 25 year guarantee.

 

[SamRoc]

I would definetly go with hardwood floors. We have them here in our home and they are 65 years old and look brand new. In our summer house we put some laminate down 3 years ago and it looks awful already. Having a guy come in a put down hardwood floors in its place.

 

[SC Minnie]

We have both as well. Hardwood from put in the foyer and dining room when the house was built. Several years ago we took up the vinyl and carpet in the kitchen and den and put in engineered wood. I really wanted hardwood but the budget wouldn't allow it. I can tell a difference but I am pleased with what we did on our budget.

 

[becca summitt]

Go with hardwood. It not only looks better and feels better, but it increases the value of your home.

My old house had unfinished wood laid, then finished after laid. When we built our home, we chose pre-finished wood because we were laying the floor ourselves and had a deadline that with our jobs we could not have finished if we had used the unfinished. That was a mistake in my opinion.

The pre-finished is easier, BUT, it does not hold up as well to spills.

When you lay unfinished wood, and then finish it, the top protective coat also fills in the spaces (though extremly small) between each piece. Protecting the wood from spills.

WHen you lay pre-finished wood, each piece is protected, but there is still the issue of the spaces. I know that these spaces are very small, but liquid doesn't need much room to soak in.

Good luck!

 

[trip]

You certainly can tell the difference between real hardwood floors and the fake stuff. People will tell you "mine look just like hardwood"...they may THINK they do but honestly there is a big diference, in look, feel and sound. Laminate floors feel like you are not walking on real hardwood floors, there is just an odd feeling to the stuff.... if its your only choice then its sure better than carpet though!

I totally agree with this!!

 

[Muushka]

If you live in a nice house in a nice neighborhood, get the hardwoods. As was mentioned, they do add value to your house.